One Page at a Time
by GreyRegal
Summary: Prompt 31 for OQ Prompt Party where Henry decides to rewrite Regina's Happy Ending


**A/N so this is my first prompt entry for the august 2017 Prompt Party. Please R/R. Thanks**

 **Prompt 31**

 **ONE PAGE AT A TIME**

Henry Daniel Mills is a very lucky kid.

If you are in his shoes, you would be too.

His life is a never ending carousel where in every turn, a new obstacle pops up.

But that is what makes his life more exciting than your typical teenager.

It started when was adopted as a baby and raised to be the Mayor's kid.

It was a peaceful life until all hell broke loose when he discovered his parentage through a book.

A single damn book filled with inked letter permanently fixed upon the yellowish paper.

But it was not your normal storybook.

It was not about fairy tales.

It was about real people whom we thought were fairy tales.

Turns out he was the grandson of the iconic Prince Charming and Snow White whose daughter turns out to be the saviour.

You may "What? Saviour? What for? Didn't they live happily ever after?"

As hard as it may be, the answer is no.

"Happily Ever After" is merely the beginning.

Turns out that the Evil Queen cursed them into a new land, our world, with new memories, each and everyone leading different lives than before, completely unaware of the alterations that took is where the Saviour comes in.

After the great scheming of the master trickster, Rumplestiltskin, Emma was pre arranged to break the curse after twenty-eight years. And boy did she succeed.

Henry was happy about his bloodline.

He started withdrawing away from his adoptive mother, the one that raised him.

The one who took the risk of breaking her own curse for the sake of loving a tiny little babe.

Yes, you read that one right.

His adoptive mother is the Evil Queen.

WAS the Evil Queen.

Or as we all know…

Mayor Regina Mills.

However, like a magnet, every story always has another side.

The darker side.

Regina went through a lot, was broken, schemed, manipulated and eventually murdered.

Figuratively, anyway.

She has always said that Evil isn't born, it is made.

That's exactly what happened.

The sweet, naïve girl that she was, was shattered over and over again… to the point of no return.

That girl died…

And from the ashes, rose a majestic Queen of Darkness.

Her name was not just to scare stubborn little kids who won't listen to their parents.

The Evil Moniker came about as she hunted her stepdaughter Snow White, blaming her babbling mouth for the death of the one whom she truly love, and in the process, the lunacy swallowed her whole.

She went on to murdering rampages not giving a damn who or where she was.

She just needed to find and kill Snow White.

The rest was collateral damage.

And the curse was supposed to take away everyone's happiness.

The irony in that though is that the people who were supposed to be subjected to the emotional torture that she thought it will be, didn't even realize that they were supposed to be suffering. They were living a safe, boring life with the civility of this world away from the dangers of the nights in theirs.

In the long run, it was her who suffered.

Always her.

Until Henry.

Henry was the light that guided her back home, wherever it might have been.

Unknowingly, the glances, smiles, and laughter had thawed her heart of stone, bringing the stone down pieces by pieces for every littlething.

The little things that matter anyway.

Until he discovered her true identity and saw her as the villain that she was.

CLUE WORD: _WAS_

But she was not the person that she used to be.

She has a kryptonite.

He was her kryptonite.

And for him, she started to change.

Why sacrifice a lot for a weakness?

Because he is the very weakness that gives her the strength to wake up every single damn day and face the demons of her past that have haunted her relentlessly.

He was her weakness.

But he was also her strength.

Paradoxical as it may seem, it is true.

Regina swallowed her pride, hate, and anger not for the sake of the greater good but for the little prince that she could have burnt the world for.

Slowly, her humanity resurfaced for other people to see.

She was becoming a hero.

But it was always her that the universe hates.

There are a lot of events that took place within the span of seasons.

They've been to Neverland, the Enchanted Forest, Storybrooke, Boston, New York and back home.

But if there is one thing that is always constant it is that Regina cannot get a break from her emotional turmoil.

And then the calm before the storm.

Regina found the man with the lion tattoo.

The one that was prophesied to be her other half since the very beginning of her existence.

And pixie dust never lies.

Despite all the logic that history can provide… HE fell in love with her.

Unconditionally.

He loved her not because she's a sorcerer nor because she was saving everyone's asses all the time but because of her heart that he has held in his very own hands.

The Heart of the Most Resilient.

HE loved her through and through with no inhibitions.

And he did live through her reign.

He knows the horrors she's inflicted and he looks past them.

Still looks at her like the sun and stars revolve around her.

Theirs was a fast becoming love story of the epic scale.

But like I said, the universe seems to hate Regina.

It was after their Underworld rescue of resurrecting Hook when all the risks she's taken were completely shaken into a complete disaster.

Hades knew that Regina was powerful.

And he was going to get rid of her.

Holding out the infamous Olympian Crystal, he set his stance and shot her.

She was frozen in the ground.

She thought that "this is it. It's my end" when the impact didn't reach her.

Because he stepped in front of her.

He sacrificed his very existence just for the simple reason that he loves her.

Afterall, it was a love that transcended realms.

She tried to say "I love you" but she couldn't.

She was acting on instinct but reality has not sunkin.

He wasn't just dead.

He was _gone_ … into oblivion.

And now, she's got no one to hold her when she cries.

No one to love her at par with the degree of her love for him.

No one to love her at the expense of his very soul.

Everyone seemed to reunite with the ones they love except Regina.

Always except Regina.

And Henry knows that too.

He has seen the struggle of his mother throughout the years.

He has seen her conquering the darkness of her heart, fought her way against the waves of her nightmares pulling her down.

He knows she is strong.

Has the capacity to put her heart in suspended animation to be strong when everyone else is weak or sad or hurt.

And he knows that she deserves her rock with whom she can finally be fragile with in the moments of human weakness.

He knows she is happy when Henry is happy.

But he also knows that despite the façade of contentment she so greatly put up for everyone to see, the tears she's holding back comes strolling down against her face every night when she thinks nobody is taking notice.

They don't know that.

But he does.

And he believes that she deserves to be happy.

She deserves the happiness that she has always been denied.

And grasping his pen, ink, and paper, he decided

" _You try to make us all happy mom, but it is now your turn_ "

And he penned the catalyst of the greatest change they will ever see…

…

Regina Mills is an early riser.

Doesn't mean she welcomes early guests.

She was in her kitchen getting her mind busy when a knock against front door vibrated against the thick silence of the empty manor.

She rolled her because who could possibly be at her door at 6:30 in the morning?

She was ready to snark to the person thinking it was Snow White but when she opened the door, her breath was taken away.

Those warm, blue eyes which she never thought she will be able to ever gaze into again, was staring against her chocolate swirls.

This must be a dream.

What kind of sick joke is this?

She couldn't help but burst into the tears that she's been trying to hold off as hard she can.

She retreated against the wall and slid down to it.

What the heck is happening?

She didn't know what was.

What she did know though was that a pair of warm arms reached to her and held her as she cried.

"Robin, if you are another dream, please let me be. It pains to see you when every time I blink you disappear on me" she whispered, begging in the manner that swore she'd never do ever again.

But the pain was blinding.

It was consuming her.

Until the melody of the voice of an actual person echoed against her ears.

"This is not a dream, milady. I truly have returned" he whispered and she laid her head against his chest and heard the calming beating of the heart that could only be his.

 _Was he real?_

She slowly lifted up her head and saw eye to eye to the blue orbs that make every wrong thing right.

"But how?" she whispered, scared to death that this might just be another cruel trick.

"Apparently, the love your heart harbours is too great that it can bring back what once was lost"

"What do you mean?"

"I didn't die, Regina. I was but lost in the dark until Henry" he answered and Regina was taken aback

"What do you mean Henry?" she asked

"The magic of the words is more powerful than any sword. But the power of the heart is even greater. He channeled your love to call out to me in the darkness of the void and brought me back to you. Though I must say, his power as the author is truly powerful, but words alone can never be as potent without a heart. And your heart has the greatest capacity of loving that it was able to love even a lowly thief. Both of you took me back Regina. Henry might have written it, but it was your heartstrings attached to mine that lead me home" he whispered and hugged her tighter.

This was their third chance

And fates be damned if he was ever letting go of her again and he asked the very question he's wanted to pop since the very first time he saw her smile.

"Marry me?"

And she nodded.

It was fate that brought them together.

It was fate that brought them apart.

But it is their choice to remain stronger than ever.

They remained cuddled into their little bubble not knowing that a mischievous boy was smiling at them from above the stairs.

This is [G32] it.[G33]

Happiness.

And they will all be taking it back…

One page at a time.


End file.
